Saturday, July 14, 2012

More Firewood

Looking back in my blog I see it was February when I bought 2 cubic metres of firewood. I still had some left over from last year and thought that would be enough to last the winter. The gentleman that I bought the firewood from had a massive heart attack while cutting a tree down and died instantly, not long after my purchase.

I realised my supply is getting down and so, when I saw some being delivered just around the corner, I asked where it came from and phoned the chap up last night. This morning at 8.30 I had 2 cubic metres of totara delivered. Some of it is a bit damp but, generally, I am pleased with it. I have moved the last of the previous load into the garage and started with an empty space.

I should have taken a photo of the wood pile before I started moving it but was so keen to get started I didn't think of it until I had most of it stacked.

Just after 1 o'clock and I, finally, had it all moved and stacked, I did have a break for a coffee to rest my back.. This is the main stack in the porch.

This is some of the excess smaller pieces.

The wetter pieces I stacked here in a particularly dry area.
The neighbour's tree shelters it.

I then covered the outside stack as we have rain forecast for tomorrow. (NOTE to self - must try and find some dark green tarpaulins).

There was some extra which I stacked in the garage.

Still can't get rid of this cold/cough/sinus so have not been able to see hubby for over a week as they don't want my bugs in the rest home. Unfortunately, he has had lots of falls during this time, one of which bruised his face quite badly. I have lost count of the number of falls but I think it is over 14.

Now I just hope this lasts me through the winter. I also have the load that was delivered last month cut short for the pot belly stove.

Between you, Gayle and myself firewood is the flavour of the week in blogland.Susan, great that you managed to get some this late in the year, we do have a lot of our own trees, and as they are felled, replant, but most will not be big enough in our time here.Totara, that will burn so hot, we have pine, tasmanian blackwood, bluegum,Banksia, cherry branches, and fruit tree prunings.Right now both fires going, washing drying,coffee being made, a good day to sit right there with a good book.Did I mention a library visit yesterday!! Cheers from Jean

We always had plenty on our previous 5 acre property - macrocarpa, eucalyptus, avocado, oak, wattle, banksia and whatever else had dropped a branch or fallen down. Never had totara before. I just can't get over the fact that I have got through so much wood already. Still, I have been keeping nice and warm. Should sleep well tonight.

It's amazing how much one gets through over winter. We have both the stove in the sitting room and the oven in the kitchen and have about 20 cubic metres of Oak and Chestnut in stock... but it's never enough. Most of our Chestnut I buy 'fresh', and for year one I leave it open. Year two I cover just the top and leave the sides open. It seems to dry off very well.

I just hope this is dry enough although the man around the corner reckoned he is burning it and it is fine and the chap I bought it from said the same thing. As I got to the bottom of the heap it seemed to get quite wet but that was rain not sap. 20 cubic metres sounds wonderful - mind you it was bad enough having to find the money for 2 cubic metres.

I suppose I should try and buy some more once the rates are paid and leave it open to the weather.

We have been having a scorcher of a heat wave here in Ontario with temps in the high 30*C. Rain is being screamed for by the farmers; will be a shortage of hay this coming Winter for them. I am hoping we are going to have enough wood for next Winter here, as we were unable to get back to our bush to cut any last Fall.Keep Warm.

Totara! From this part of the country that sounds sacrilegious. I guess it grows faster where you live. This is the first year I haven't bought in a winter supply (18 cubic metres - just short of Cro's allowance) but have been burning wood from this land: gum that Elwin felled a few months before he died, pine and macrocarpa from the shelter belts, apple and plum from orchard tidying (the plum is my favourite - slow and hot) and a few gleanings of oak from the churchyard. I feel the same way about those blue tarpaulins! But dry wood is the important thing :-)

Beautifully stacked, well done! I paid someone to stack mine, I am getting very slack. Totara burns very well. Mine is pine and macrocarpa, alas. I bought two loads this year instead of my usual single load, and have been hoovering through it at a great rate. There's no such thing as too much firewood!

About Me

Born in Surrey at the end of 1943 I moved to New Zealand in 1965 and spent nearly 40 years living on a 5 acre property by 90 Mile Beach in the Far North.
In 2009 due to my husband's health problems we moved south to Kamo on the outskirts of Whangarei.